Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Thank you, polar vortex, for bringing some winter weather our way. As an Eastern European-for-life, winter time is easily one of my favorite seasons. But who can't use a little sunshine even in the dead of cold :)!? Begin by listening to this suave summer jam:

Now, let us discuss baking. If you have read any of my previous entries, you know my general disdain for pedantic stuff like measuring, along with my other truisms like "studying is for fools." Yeah, marinate on that one for a bit :) I do my cooking organically and that means...recipes schmecipes. But that also means that people always come at me with "I bet you can't bake though."

I do beg to differ, my friends--turns out my inventions are not limited to the world of savory treats alone. But before we start talking about baking, let me take a moment to take a pro stance on probiotics (ha, I could go with these puns all day long...crickets). I want to talk about kombucha. You see, I have been brewing kombucha for years now. I have a veritable kombucha colony--it is called Tonebucha because it is so good, it makes you sing :). I have been crowned the kombucha queen of Arlington (at least in my own head). I love my kombucha SCOBY babies so much, I have even named them--allow me to introduce you to Amir, Samir, and Zubair! Yes, they look like sheikhs so this is how they earned their monikers.

And speaking of monikers, imagine my utter delight at winning a kombucha naming contest! Barefoot Bucha had a contest to name their latest flavor--I drank it and within less than 10 seconds came up with S-Pear-Tacular :) So from now on, when you buy your kombucha on tap at Whole Foods, you can smile knowing you "know" the person who named it!

Here you see me enjoying the fruits of my labors. Look at that golden delicious hue! Luminous. I do believe I am in love!

Now, time to make some delicious golden muffins to defy the cold clutches of winter!